Dezhou (Chinese: 德州; pinyin: Dézhōu) is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the southeast, Liaocheng to the southwest, Binzhou to the northeast, and the province of Hebei to the north.

Dezhou
德州市
Tehchow
Dezhou Xinhu view from Diecuishan
DongFeng Road
Dezhou TianQu-Xinqu
Map
location of Dezhou in Shandong
location of Dezhou in Shandong
Coordinates (Dezhou municipal government): 37°26′10″N 116°21′32″E / 37.436°N 116.359°E / 37.436; 116.359
CountryPeople's Republic of China
ProvinceShandong
County-level divisions11
Municipal seatDecheng District
Government
 • CPC SecretaryWu Cuiyun (吴翠云)
 • MayorChen Fei
Area
 • Prefecture-level city10,361 km2 (4,000 sq mi)
Population
 (2019)[1]
 • Prefecture-level city5,748,500
 • Density550/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
 • Urban
986,192
 • Metro
986,192
GDP[2]
 • Prefecture-level cityCN¥ 338 billion
US$ 51 billion
 • Per capitaCN¥ 58,252
US$ 8,803
Time zoneUTC+08:00 (China Standard)
Area code0534
ISO 3166 codeCN-SD-14
License Plate Prefix鲁N
Websitedz.gov.cn

History

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Map including Dezhou (labeled as TE-HSIEN (TEHCHOW) (walled) 德縣) (AMS, 1954)

Sulu Royal Family

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The King of Sulu Paduka Pahala from the first royal family on Sulu before the Hashemites went on a tribute mission to the Ming dynasty Yongle Emperor. He died of natural causes in China and his two sons and wife were left in the care of Hui Muslims in Dezhou, Shandong.[3] The two families descended from the two sons were given the surnames An and Wen by the Ming Emperors. They lived through the Ming and Qing dynasties and still live in Dezhou today.[citation needed]

The Kingdom of Sulu was converted to Islam, and the Hashemite Sharif ul-Hāshim of Sulu arrived in Sulu and married a princess of the previous non-Hashemite royal family, founding the Sulu Sultanate.[citation needed]

Tausug delegations from Sulu have visited Dezhou to see the descendants of the previous royal family.[citation needed]

Death of Empress Xiaoxianchun

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Qianlong's first empress, Empress Xiaoxianchun, died on the 8th day of the 3rd month of the 13th year of Qianlong at the age of 37,[a][4] on board a boat in Dezhou under circumstances that were not well documented by historical sources.[5]

Administration

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The municipality of Dezhou comprises thirteen county-level sub divisions:[6]

Districts
Cities

Cities (县级市 xianji shi) administered by Dezhou are:

Counties

Counties (县 xian) administered by Dezhou are:

Development zones
Map

Climate

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Climate data for Dezhou (2006–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 17.1
(62.8)
23.1
(73.6)
30.2
(86.4)
33.7
(92.7)
39.0
(102.2)
41.1
(106.0)
42.6
(108.7)
37.0
(98.6)
37.0
(98.6)
32.3
(90.1)
26.6
(79.9)
17.7
(63.9)
42.6
(108.7)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 3.5
(38.3)
7.3
(45.1)
15.1
(59.2)
21.3
(70.3)
27.5
(81.5)
32.1
(89.8)
32.4
(90.3)
30.8
(87.4)
27.2
(81.0)
21.4
(70.5)
12.5
(54.5)
5.3
(41.5)
19.7
(67.5)
Daily mean °C (°F) −1.3
(29.7)
2.1
(35.8)
9.2
(48.6)
15.3
(59.5)
21.8
(71.2)
26.4
(79.5)
27.7
(81.9)
26.3
(79.3)
21.8
(71.2)
15.6
(60.1)
7.3
(45.1)
0.5
(32.9)
14.4
(57.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −5.0
(23.0)
−1.9
(28.6)
4.3
(39.7)
10.1
(50.2)
16.6
(61.9)
21.3
(70.3)
23.8
(74.8)
22.7
(72.9)
17.7
(63.9)
11.1
(52.0)
3.3
(37.9)
−3.2
(26.2)
10.1
(50.1)
Record low °C (°F) −17.4
(0.7)
−12.6
(9.3)
−6.9
(19.6)
−0.7
(30.7)
5.8
(42.4)
10.5
(50.9)
17.2
(63.0)
14.5
(58.1)
5.8
(42.4)
−1.4
(29.5)
−10.7
(12.7)
−16.1
(3.0)
−17.4
(0.7)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 2.9
(0.11)
8.6
(0.34)
8.0
(0.31)
25.0
(0.98)
39.7
(1.56)
70.3
(2.77)
152.0
(5.98)
137.6
(5.42)
45.4
(1.79)
28.7
(1.13)
15.5
(0.61)
3.2
(0.13)
536.9
(21.13)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 1.6 2.8 2.4 4.9 6.0 7.5 10.9 9.4 5.7 5.0 3.8 2.1 62.1
Average snowy days 3.1 3.0 1.0 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.1 2.4 10.8
Average relative humidity (%) 57 54 50 55 58 60 75 78 70 64 64 61 62
Mean monthly sunshine hours 155.4 161.6 218.2 239.8 267.9 236.7 197.6 200.0 199.1 193.7 156.9 150.2 2,377.1
Percent possible sunshine 50 52 59 61 61 54 44 48 54 56 52 51 54
Source: China Meteorological Administration[8][9]

Transport

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Historical

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The Yellow river and the Grand Canal runs through Dezhou, making it an important hub for cargo transit since antient times. It was described as "Junction of Nine Arteries" (九达天衢) and "Portal of the Capital" (神京门户).

Modern Era

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Dezhou is connected via the Shijiazhuang-Dezhou railway, Shijiazhuang-Ji'nan HSR, Beijing-Shanghai railway, Beijing-Shanghai HSR. A small, single-track railway connects Dezhou with Dongying city as well.

The main expressway passing Dezhou is the G3 Beijing-Taipei Expressway, running north–south from it; other provincial expressways including Dezhou-Shanghai Expressway, as well as National Highway 104 and 105 offer connections in other directions for Dezhou.

G2 Beijing–Shanghai Expressway passes through the Laoling urban area and Linyi, making Laoling a sub-center of Dezhou.[10]

Tourism

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Dezhou's biggest historical attraction is the tomb of Sultan Paduka Pahala of Sulu (Philippines), who died in Dezhou on his return journey from a visit to the Yongle Emperor in 1417.[3] The tomb is well preserved and has been declared a national heritage site. Descendants of the sultan's Muslim followers still live in Dezhou today, and are classified as the Hui minority.

One of Dezhou's county Lingxian used to be a big county in China in history, when it was called Pingyuan County. Now part of the ancient city wall of Tang Dynasty still exists in the south of the region. Before the Three Kingdoms formed, one of the three emperors Liu Bei used to be the chief of the county, together with his fellows Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. In addition, it is the hometown of Dongfang Shuo, the most well-known adviser during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han ; In Tang Dynasty, a major figure of Chinese calligraphy, Yan Zhenqing, once took office as the administrator of the county. Today, a memorial hall for the two historic figures is built in the People's Park of Lingxian, where a lot of materials of Dongfang Shuo and stone inscriptions of Yan Zhenqing are preserved.

For tourist attractions, there is also a famous temple in Qingyun County. It is called Haidao Jinshan Temple, which is one of the biggest centers of Buddhism in Northern China. The most attractive scene is the underground aisle where the portrait of the hell is presented using high technology.

Industry

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A new industrial zone hailed as the "Solar Valley" is being built for experimenting with clean-energy urban projects and massive use of household utilities such as solar-powered water-heaters. The Washington Post describes Dezhou's Solar Valley as the "clean-tech version of Silicon Valley".[11]

Nowadays one of the biggest and most famous industries in Dezhou is solar energy industry, with two main corporations included—Himin Group (皇明集团) and its partner Ecco Solar Group (亿家能集团). Dezhou increased its international reputation when it was selected to follow previous hosts,[12] Daegu, South Korea (2004), Oxford, UK (2006) and Adelaide, Australia (2008) as host of the 2010 International Solar City Congress.[13] Himin Group has developed into the world's largest solar water heater manufacturer and is also discovering new areas such as photoelectricity.

Greenpeace China cited Dezhou in May 2009 as an example of how renewable energy can become a more common reality throughout the world.[14]

Dezhou houses the world's largest solar-powered office building, covering around 75,000 square meters.[15][16] Dezhou also has semiconductor and sports equipment manufacturing industries.[17] China's largest seasoning production base is located in Laoling, Dezhou.[18]

Education

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Dezhou No.2 Middle school High school
  • Dezhou University: a comprehensive university which was approved by the National Education Committee in March 2000. It is the aggregation of Dezhou Teachers’ College, Dezhou Education College and Evening College Municipality, which has a more than 30-year history. It currently offers postgraduate education.
  • Shandong Huayu Institute of Technology: a private science and engineering university offers 4-year undergraduate majors.
  • Dezhou Vocational and Technical College: a public vocational college in Dezhou, offers 3-year vocational majors.
  • Technological Vocational College of Dezhou: a private vocational college in Dezhou.
  • Dezhou Engineering Vocational College: a private polytechnic vocational college in Dezhou.

Notable people

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Miscellaneous

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Notes

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  1. ^ 5 April, 1748

References

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  1. ^ a b 最新人口信息 www.hongheiku.com (in Chinese). hongheiku. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
  2. ^ "Shandong Statistical Yearbook-2016". www.stats-sd.gov.cn.
  3. ^ a b Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman (2015). China's Early Mosques. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. pp. 161–162. ISBN 978-1-4744-3721-9.
  4. ^ Zhang & Wu 1928: "十三年,從上東巡,還蹕,三月乙未,后崩於德州舟次,年三十七。(...[On the] 13th year, she followed the Emperor for an eastern tour, During their return on the yuemo of the 3rd month, the Queen died onboard a yacht in Dezhou, aged 37."
  5. ^ "明清第一任皇后之悲(下)" [The Tragedy of Ming, Qing's first Empresses (2nd Half)]. People's Daily (in Traditional Chinese). Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. 10 October 2012. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  6. ^ "Political divisions of Dezhou City". Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2011-06-08.
  7. ^ "蓄势待发,未来可期!德州天衢新区正式揭牌成立_发展_建设_项目". www.sohu.com. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  8. ^ 中国气象数据网 – WeatherBk Data (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  9. ^ 中国气象数据网 (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  10. ^ "京沪高速途经城市_G2京沪高速是从哪里到哪里_高速路况网". www.gaosulukuang.com. Retrieved 2024-10-05.
  11. ^ "With Solar Valley project, China embarks on bold green technology mission" by Andrew Higgins; Washington Post, May 17, 2010
  12. ^ "Previous congresses". Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
  13. ^ Himin sees more shine in Dezhou's Solar Valley China Daily
  14. ^ "On the sunny side of the street". Archived from the original on 2010-02-07. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
  15. ^ "World's Largest Solar-powered Office building". Archived from the original on 2011-08-24. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
  16. ^ " "
  17. ^ "Investment Climate - DEZHOU CHINA". www.dezhou.gov.cn. Retrieved 2024-10-05.
  18. ^ 孙迟. "Government support boosts the development of the local seasoning industry". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 2024-10-05.

Works cited

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  • Zhang, Caitian; Wu, Changshou (1928). "列傳一" [Biography 1]. 清史稿 (The Draft History of Qing) (in Traditional Chinese). 214. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
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